Year: 1991
Director: Gary Trousdale
Country: U.S
Language: English
When one thinks of Disney classics their cannon usually consists of Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, The Lion King, Aladdin and Beauty and the Beast. This is the first animated film that received a Best Picture nomination at the Academy Awards, unfortunately it didn't win because it lost to Silence of the Lambs. Beauty and the Beast has some controversy surrounding it, many critics of the film believe this is pro-abusive relationships. Whatever the case may be, I have watched it again and have come to two conclusions regarding this film, which will be written about below.
The film is about an intelligent girl named Belle (Paige O' Hara) who is dissatisfied with life in a small provincial French town, constantly trying to fend off the misplaced "affections" of conceited Gaston (Richard White). The Beast (Robby Benson) is a prince who was placed under a spell because he could not love. To be fair the Beast was 11 years old when she pissed off the witch that put a spell on him, A wrong turn taken by Maurice (Rex Everhart), Belle's father, causes the two to meet.
Conclusion #1: Beauty and the Beast is a morally responsible film about the dangers of masculinity. Gaston is the typical masculine stereotype the North American media constantly portrays. He is physically strong, confident to the point of arrogance and he treats women like objects to be skillfully obtained. Despite his "masculinity" he cannot win Belle's heart. In the beginning of the film, The Beast is portrayed as the violent "masculine" man, a take charge "man" who is incredibly aggressive. It is only until The Beast shows some typically "feminine" characteristics that he becomes both metaphorically and literally more human and Belle begins to fall for him.
Conclusion #2: Beauty and the Beast is not about morals, it is an examination of Stockholm syndrome and abusive relationships. Belle is portrayed as intelligent in the film, but what "intelligent" characteristics does she have? Any indication of her intelligence that we have is that she can read a book, which pretty much anybody can do. Eventually she inadvertently gets herself locked in a castle with an angry Beast, and becomes a hostage/prisoner. She slowly falls for the Beast, but is this because The Beast himself changed or because her view of the Beast changed? Stockholm Syndrome is essentially a psychological phenomenon in which hostages express empathy, sympathy and have positive feelings towards their captors, sometimes to the point of defending them. Belle mistook some normal, average behavior for niceness. The Beast might not have given her a library, it was his to begin with and he was just showing her another room in his large castle.
In conclusion, while Beauty and the Beast is a fun film to watch and examine, it is also a decently made and entertaining film. The background is meticulously made, some of the characters are pretty funny and the songs like Gaston and Be Our Guest are quite memorable. Wile this isn't the best Disney film, nor the funnest, it still is decent. 3.5/5
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